The disclosure relates to an electrical interconnect system, and more particularly to an electrical interconnect system utilizing nonconductive elastomeric elements and conductive elements.
Interconnect devices are used to provide electrical connection between two or more opposing arrays of contact areas for establishing at least one electrical circuit, where the respective arrays may be provided on a device, printed circuit board, Pin Grid Array (PGA), Land Grid Array (LGA), Ball Grid Array (BGA), etc. Interconnection techniques may include soldering, socketing, wire bonding, wire button contacts and plug-in connectors. In one interconnect technique using a Z-axis interconnect device, an array of Z-axis interconnect elements supported on a substrate/carrier provide electrical connection between stacked electrical components. The Z-axis interconnect device is capable of accommodating size constraints, such as related to the reduced physical size of many electrical devices. Additionally, the Z-axis interconnect devices may be non-permanently installed for accommodating the need to remove or replace components of an established electrical circuit(s).
Electrical conductivity may be provided by a Z-axis interconnect device having metal conductive contacts, each contact providing electrical connection between corresponding electrical contacts of the opposing arrays. Establishing reliable contact between the metal contacts and the metal contact areas of either of the opposing arrays may be unreliable due to height variations between electrical contacts of the opposing arrays, variations in thickness of a substrate supporting either of the opposing arrays of the conductive elements of the interconnect device, warping of a substrate of the either of the opposing arrays, etc.
In prior electrical interconnect devices using conductive elastomeric conductive elements, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,420, an electrical interconnect device is provided with a non-conductive substrate and an array of electrical contacts held in substantially circular openings in the substrate. Each of the electrical contacts includes a nonconductive elastomeric element and an associated conductive element. The conductive element includes a body having opposite ends that are disposed exteriorly of the respective opposite ends of the nonconductive elastomeric element. The opposite ends of the nonconductive elastomeric element resiliently press against the respective opposite ends of the conductive element when a force is applied to the electrical contact.